Water ballet with killer whales

[PamelaMorrison89]

wow they have better care for their orcas than some other aquariums

[Akashima]

There is something real in her words that you won't really hear from an American killer whale trainer. I am not a fan of captivity, but I do respect her for being honest and not fake like we are so used to seeing over here in the US.

[mademoisellebijou]

There is nothing right about these intelligent & social animals being held prisoner so they can perform stupid tricks all day! The reason isn't education or conservation... it's Profit, pure & simple. Trainers probably mean well & care about the orcas but anyone who has convinced themselves that the killer whales, can be happy or lead a life that resembles anything like what they would have had in the wild - is deluding themselves. You spend your life in a bath tub & tell me how happy you are.

[estelle497]

To the people who believe that the straightness of a dorsal fin correlates with happiness, it's not true. Like sazmullium said, it's due to gravity. Dorsal fins and tail flukes don't have any bones in them, which makes them more prone to curling (unlike pectoral flippers, which have bones and are strong and undeviating).

[metridium]

@estelle497 Sea World's desperate rationalizations for their Captive Orcas flaccid dorsal fins is completely unsubstantiated by empirical observation and data, clearly the fact that Orca dorsal fins have no bones or muscles for support is irrelevant to their stability. To imply gravity to be the cause is at the very least misleading. Sea World's Brad Andrews commented, "It doesn't mean anything really. I like it. It's a little bit different"

[Yumislover99]

she must be VERY happy there <3 her fin isnt drooping. Good job to the people who take care of the whales ^^

[sazmullium]

@Yumislover99 Just so you know the dorsal fin dropping has nothing to do with happiness. Its actually due to gravity and they way they swim, Orcas then spend more time under water swimming, as well as swimming on their back tend to have straight dorsal fins, dorsal fins curve to the the pressure of gravity, it is very common to see wild orcas with curved dorsal fins.

[Yumislover99]

@sazmullium oh really? *tilts head* hm! i didnt know that xD;

[metridium]

@sazmullium Flaccid Dorsal fins in the wild are so uncommon it is almost non-existent. The assorted Marine Parks have always had a PR nightmare with this clear state of atrophy with their Orca.

[justinbieberfan1591]

i wonder if its easy to surf the killer whales

[bluepiano717]

She is so lucky i want to be a killer whale trainer more than anything, but my mom doesn't agree.

[Cranma5678]

@bluepiano71 dont let that ruin your dreams if thats what you want go for it!

-never stop dreaming until your living it- :)

[signingchild]

i would like to call attention to the dorsal fins of these killer whales. the ones i noticed are noticably straighter than like tillikum, kaina or katina's. see it doesn't happen to all killer whales. the flopping over hardly EVER happens in the wild. please take notice.

[loopyallie1]

The reasoning for the dorsals flopping over is because they spend so much time above the surface. I think it has something to do with when they're swimming underwater, the water's resistance keeps the dorsal straight up.

[olle8804]

If you think about it. How many killerwhales has straight dorsal fins in captivity? 0!!! beside some femels that dont have long dorslas fins! In the wild some few have dorsal fins that fliped over but that is not many if you think of the number of orcas living in the wild + its orcas with loooooong dorsal fins!

[sazmullium]

@olle8804 Actually there are plenty of Orcas in captivity with straight dorsal fins and as i have said to someone else here, it has nothing to do with tank size or happiness, recent research on wild as well as captivity orcas have shown that orcas that spend more time under water and more time swimming on there back (Corky Sea World san diego) have stronger and straight dorsal fins due to the lack of gravity in water.

[olle8804]

@sazmullium tell me one male with long dorsalfin thats i straight???? Corkys dorsal fin is not long! I have not seen a picture of a male orca in captivity that has a straight dorsalfin!

[sazmullium]

@olle8804 Have you seen the size of corky reguardless shes a female she is rather big compared to other females, and if you have any knowledge of orcas ar all you will know it is not just male dorsal fins that can bend due to gravitiy. If you don't believe me ask the trainers look up the research, it has nothing to do with space or happiness only due to the amount of time they spend on the surface.

[MichoacanGirl21]

if only lolita had a tank like that :(

[xdarktemplarx]

i would drop on her.....

[sharkanorca]

I love the Sharkan story. She was a strong-willed lady. :)

[Shamudream]

Incredible!

[claire280692]

small tank?

[RingneckDoveFan]

Noooo!! BIG TANK! That tank is over 40 feet deep and almost 200 feet long.

[Carjackforeverxx]

Biggest tank in the world.

[AdokG3]

Que mulher!!!

[Kozmo198]

wutta woman!

[jujiezz]

Wow i've seen her live on Marine Land Antibes!

[JackNo1celticfan]

I really want to be a Killer Whale trainer! But How and where do you go???

[RingneckDoveFan]

Find a marine park that holds killer whales, theres 11 out there.

Go to their site, and contact them. Ask them what you have to do. Study marine biology and/or animal behavior in college.

And make sure you are a very, very, VERY good swimmer!

[playfulheartgurl]

and psychology!

[signingchild]

actually most place prefer u have more psychology than biology stuff. and u have 2 b very patient. at sea world u work with killer whales for about 2 yrs b4 u ever get in the water with them.

[delaguer]

why are they called "Killer" Whales?? Beautiful creatures they are.

[OceanLy]

Because the "transient" type of killer whales, kill whales.. which makes them "whale killers". It was just a wrong way to translate. The scientific name for them is Orcinus Orca.

[0Juuken]

Because sailors called them whale killers cuz they saw them kill whales and people got the name confused.